Diamonds can now be created from scratch in the lab in 15 minutes
Diamonds can now be created from scratch in the lab in 15 minutes
Scientists have revolutionized diamond synthesis with a groundbreaking method that creates diamonds at room temperature and pressure.
Before synthetic gemstones were trendy and they were truly worthless I bought 5 massive sapphires for like 3 dollars each.
They're on my desk, I see them every day. Every time I play with them I muse about how not so long ago people murdered each other for gems so large and so perfect. Now that anyone can have them though, they're toys.
Gems were always about status, nobody aside from nerds every wanted them because they were beautiful, or because their physical properties and fascinating. Showing how much 'better' you are than someone else was worth more than human lives.
I don't think new methods for making diamond will really help anyone, the nutters will just find new ways to flaunt their power.
Diamonds actually have real life practical purpose, like being the tip of a drillhead to dig underground.
I think rich people collect art, these days, right? For inflated prices. And, like, limited wines. Maybe I'm thinking of money launderers.
Sounds cool. Can I have one?
If you give me your address and pay shipping. Although if you want sick gems the coolest thing you can do is buy rejected lab rough (grade inferior for lasers and shit), and then take it to your local lapidary club and facet it yourself.
I faceted this into trillion but it's too dark to have much brilliance.
This just in!
I'm a freak accident, a jet plane owned by De Beers Group crashed into the lab, killing all but one member of the team responsible for this discovery. In an unrelated event, the final member, who was not in the lab when the plane crashed, accidentally stumbled on front of an oncoming subway train.
In a press release, a De Beers representative is quoted as saying, "Oopsie!"
"I'm a freak accident" I had visions of the Allstate Mayhem commercials.
Gem quality or that weird black shit they use for diamond tipped drills and such?
The latter, it's tiny stuff atm. Industrial. May find ways to improve growth.
It's in the article lol.
Who cares? Diamonds and gems are just shiny. Literally worthless now that they can be manufactured. Gold? A good conductor, nothing else.
Because certain kinds of gem quality diamonds are an even better conductor of electricity with better heat dissipation than gold and copper, and could be used for better electronics if they were large enough.
Diamonds are the hardest material we know of. It is already being used for cutting tools and I am certain that making larger diamonds relativly cheaply will open up even more technical options.